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Do these have a documented API so they could be used in a DIY environment without any Internet connectivity or proprietary apps/software?

A shopper
on Mar 13, 2018

BEST ANSWER:No, this product do have not a documented API. Without Internet connectivity the plug would not be able to be control or be monitored remotely unless turned off manually via the button on the plug.

BEST ANSWER:No, this product do have not a documented API. Without Internet connectivity the plug would not be able to be control or be monitored remotely unless turned off manually via the button on the plug.

How is the STITCH Smart Plug idenified to Google? it is advertised as being compatible with Google but I can’t find anything close in the list of supported devices on Google. Please provide the name that should be used to get Google Home to recognize it. Monoprice support need to provide tha answer.

BEST ANSWER:Google does not recognize the device outright. You'll have to download the Simple Home app from the QR code link in the user's manual (use the PDF manual on the Monprice website, it is much more clear than the one that came with my device). Once you have the app downloaded and the devices set up in that app you can add devices to Google using the directions in the PDF manual. FYI, if you add new devices after completing the step to link Google and Simple Home you'll have to remove the simple home link and re-add all the devices again to get Google to see the new ones.

BEST ANSWER:Google does not recognize the device outright. You'll have to download the Simple Home app from the QR code link in the user's manual (use the PDF manual on the Monprice website, it is much more clear than the one that came with my device). Once you have the app downloaded and the devices set up in that app you can add devices to Google using the directions in the PDF manual. FYI, if you add new devices after completing the step to link Google and Simple Home you'll have to remove the simple home link and re-add all the devices again to get Google to see the new ones.

As with almost all smart home devices you must first associate the device with your account on whatever app the creator uses, in this case Simple Home on the app store.After setting up your account, you can associate the product with google home by attaching your account to it. Google lists the service for this particular device as Smart Life

This information can also be found in the users guide.>app installation and device registration can be found starting on page 3>connecting the device to google home can be found starting on page 13

If you download the user guide on this page, you can find this information on panel 15. The way it worked for me was to link it to the Simple Home app in the Play Store (the icon is an orange box with a white house outline). I used this to connect to the plug the first time. After that, you go into Google Home -> Home Control. Click the plus sign to add something, then find "Smart Life" in the list.

Do these have firmware upgrade capability and on going firmware development for vulnerability mitigation?

A shopper
on Aug 21, 2018

BEST ANSWER:They do have the ability to upgrade the firmware in the app, and I believe that mine updated the first time I connected to it. (The current version is 1.0.5) I cannot speak to ongoing development, though. I hope they do, and I'm watching. If they don't update, I won't be purchasing any more.

BEST ANSWER:They do have the ability to upgrade the firmware in the app, and I believe that mine updated the first time I connected to it. (The current version is 1.0.5) I cannot speak to ongoing development, though. I hope they do, and I'm watching. If they don't update, I won't be purchasing any more.

Will this product be able to connect to a 2.4/5ghz router that only broadcasts one SSID?

A shopper
on May 17, 2018

BEST ANSWER:They can't, which is a gigantic and glaring problem with the product. To get mine setup I walked outside of my house (5ghz has more limited range), this switched my phone to the 2.4ghz range from which I was able to setup the product. Once setup you're good to go forevermore. Hope that helps.

BEST ANSWER:They can't, which is a gigantic and glaring problem with the product. To get mine setup I walked outside of my house (5ghz has more limited range), this switched my phone to the 2.4ghz range from which I was able to setup the product. Once setup you're good to go forevermore. Hope that helps.

Is there an app for this product or is the programming thru the Alexa app? I have found it difficult, if not impossible, to program on and off times with the Alexa app.

A shopper
on Feb 20, 2019

BEST ANSWER:I use the app available on IPhone called Stitch by Monoprice. I primarily bought it to monitor Power consumption of an outlet and it works well for that. I haven't used it to turn on and off so much yet as I have expensive equipment attached to it that needs to stay on most of the time. Though the same app does provide you with many simple options to automate based on time , temperature etc. . Worth exploring as this app looks much more capable than other competing products that I use in my house and I have at least 3 kinds in use

BEST ANSWER:I use the app available on IPhone called Stitch by Monoprice. I primarily bought it to monitor Power consumption of an outlet and it works well for that. I haven't used it to turn on and off so much yet as I have expensive equipment attached to it that needs to stay on most of the time. Though the same app does provide you with many simple options to automate based on time , temperature etc. . Worth exploring as this app looks much more capable than other competing products that I use in my house and I have at least 3 kinds in use

I use the app from the Apple App Store , "StitchbyMonoprice" . And schedule the On , Off times . I have not yet connected my Amazon Echo for that control . But it's its supposed to be doable . I Just moved and all boxes not yet opened . I would be dissapointed if the Amazon Echo, Alexa, Amazon, which ever name you use , did not work . Best answer I have till I get my Echo connected to the network .

I am thinking about plugging a deep freeze into one. Does it have a notification if it is supposed to be on and loses power or loses connection in general? After losing a deep freeze full of food when a fuse blew while I was out of town (and if I'd known about it my neighbor could have reset it for me) am looking for something to remedy that situation.

Thanks for the answers. Just to be clear, I know it's not the primary function of these to serve as a monitor. But for instance one friend has a camera doorbells system and if the power goes out he gets a message loses contact. And a friend that has a bunch of TP-Link switches and bulbs said they drove him nuts until he figured out how to get them to stop notifying him that the network lost contact with devices when he had power issues this summer with storms and all. That is all I really need...notification that the network lost a device. Then if I am home or not I can have someone go check and reset the fuse if necessary. I have a couple of stitch lightbulbs and like them but it sounds like something else is needed for my other wants. And if I use a TP link outlet then I'll get their bulbs and ditch these for simplicity. (Also - Bikram - I know that the TP Link ones come back on and reconnect when the power comes back.)

Describing the Use case:When the stitch smart plug looses powerA notification will be sent by email or text to userso that remediation can take place to provide power to device plugged into unit.

There are a few issues that would need to be addressed. If the stitch lost power how would the stitch device send a notification? - What would need to happen is a monitoring service ping the stitch if that connection was lost then a notification is sent.

Second. Typically a whole house would loose power not one circuit (except a fuse/breaker popping) then the connection / internet would be down thus communication to the user (phone) is severed and no notifications can be sent. - Solution have the users mobile device ping the home unit, if no connection to the stitch after XXX time then provide notification by email or text.

Looking at the app, I don't see anything that would send you notifications if it turns off. There "scenes" you can set up for things (think simple rules"), but they're more about making things happen when there is power (i.e. you come home and turn something on)

I saw nothing in the setup that mentioned automatic notifications. Given the low price on this switch I don't think it would have this feature. And if the switch and thus your freezer lost power, the switch would not have power to transmit that fact/event.

Not really, you can check on it and see if it's still drawing power, you can try to turn it off and back on again (if it's not connected it'll fail to switch), but it doesnt' seem to have a heartbeat function like youi are loooking for.

I lied, when testing it I hadn't waited long enough. If you unplug the device and watch it on your iPhone, it switches to "Offline" in a few minutes.Note that as reported elsewhere, when it's powered back up it comes up in the OFF state, so you;ll want to watch it pretty much continuously, which probably isn't useful...I tried enabling notifications and it didn't notify me for online/offline changes or for power-on/power-off status changes.(IMHO you'd be much better off with a Raspberry Pi and a DS18B20 temperature sensor, then you can not only track the temperature, but you can get an email when it exceeds some setpoint. The power could be on but the freezer could fail, and power monitoring wouldn't tell you much...)

No, this plug/app doesn't have alert capabilities. It's largely focused on control (remotely, or by schedule, or timer) with some limited power usage statistics. At this price level, without the need for a hub, that's a fair amount.

Can this be set to default on? I have a server I'd like to monitor the power usage of but the power goes out from time to time.

A shopper
on Sep 14, 2018

BEST ANSWER:When power lost you hear the click of it going off, and when power restored it does not turn back on, know this is without timers, as not tested following, but might be possible to have it turn back on if timer set for on everyday of week between midnight and 11:59pm, as to turn something on and off by timer you need set seperate on and off timers. Even if that works, power being restored between 11:59pm and midnight, would mean at most a minute extra before server reboots. That said having this on a server can be very useful for remotely hard shutting down a frozen/crashed server to try remote into to check for issues when not working.

BEST ANSWER:When power lost you hear the click of it going off, and when power restored it does not turn back on, know this is without timers, as not tested following, but might be possible to have it turn back on if timer set for on everyday of week between midnight and 11:59pm, as to turn something on and off by timer you need set seperate on and off timers. Even if that works, power being restored between 11:59pm and midnight, would mean at most a minute extra before server reboots. That said having this on a server can be very useful for remotely hard shutting down a frozen/crashed server to try remote into to check for issues when not working.

It's possible to create a daily schedule in the app so that the connected device turns on. There are also weather related conditions that can trigger the device (temp, humidity, air quality...) which you can setup.

I unplugged mine and upon plugging it back in it went to the power off mode. It was in the power on mode before unplugging it. So to answer your question, no. To bad. there is no memory of pre-power fail mode.

BEST ANSWER:Yes, multiple sockets can be grouped together through the app to control all the devices as a group with one command. The device is also compatible with Alexa and Google Home so you can use voice command to control one or a group of devices.

BEST ANSWER:Yes, multiple sockets can be grouped together through the app to control all the devices as a group with one command. The device is also compatible with Alexa and Google Home so you can use voice command to control one or a group of devices.

BEST ANSWER:There are a lot of factors to consider but it essentially comes down to making sure absolutely no water comes into contact with the device. High humidity could be a problem if you lived close to the ocean for example and extreme hot or cold temperatures could also be a factor. If your covered patio keeps the device dry and humidity and temperature are within operating specifications you should be okay. Most outdoor, electrical circuits are protected by GFI so the worst case scenario is that the device would be damaged but the GFI will protect everything else (people and electrical panel).

BEST ANSWER:There are a lot of factors to consider but it essentially comes down to making sure absolutely no water comes into contact with the device. High humidity could be a problem if you lived close to the ocean for example and extreme hot or cold temperatures could also be a factor. If your covered patio keeps the device dry and humidity and temperature are within operating specifications you should be okay. Most outdoor, electrical circuits are protected by GFI so the worst case scenario is that the device would be damaged but the GFI will protect everything else (people and electrical panel).

BEST ANSWER:I am not sure but I have 12 schedules in the app and can turn them on or off so only the ones I want to run will run. All 12 will run as well as none at all and it can also be included in different scenes using Alexa.

BEST ANSWER:I am not sure but I have 12 schedules in the app and can turn them on or off so only the ones I want to run will run. All 12 will run as well as none at all and it can also be included in different scenes using Alexa.

I use it to control the heating element in an Engine , I have the schedule set up for every morning . The outlet works my schedule very nice . On/Off according to the schedule , works good . The electrical usage status is a nice feature for seeing what the current draw is , and that it is actually working .

Found these on Monoprice and ordered one. I was hesitant, after babysitting Wemos for a year and a half. After setup, these things are amazing. They are responsive, reliable and reconnect to Wifi after power is lost. They stay connected also! I highly recommend these!

Setup was easy and it is working very well for us. Replaced an old fashioned timer with this - big improvement. Seems very reliable. Has a very handy switch on the side to manually override the schedule.

Pros: Works as advertised. Easy to set up. If you set it up in conjunction with your cell phone, it will provide current status even when you and your cell phone are away from the WiFi connected unit. Power usage notification is nifty, but likely needed only by a few.Cons: First: Limit of 30 scheduled events. Sounds like a lot, but it's not enough to turn the receptacle on AND off once an hour for every hour of the day and night. 50 scheduled events would cover that case. Second, you can choose which days of the week to repeat each event. To choose every day of the week, you must select Monday AND Tuesday AND ... Sunday. 7 total selections. There is no "Every day of the week", nor "Every weekday" option. These would be very useful. Hard to imagine competent technical software development missed this!

It wouldn't configure in my specialized WiFi IoT setup (all WiFi devices isolated from each other), and the instructions for setting it up in AP mode were wrong, so I ended up doing a kind of hybrid setup: Use AP mode but give it the password for the IOT WiFi first, then connect to the Smart Plug's WiFi and finish the setup there.

I like the way it reports power consumption and how using the manual switch on the side changes the state of the IOS app, but the whole thing is a little too opaque. I'd really like a proper API, but for the price I suppose you can't have everything.